Dont Forget The Things You Said
by APHCupcake
Summary: A followup to my last piece "The things you said I wished you hadnt"
1. Chapter 1

It was interesting after their Yukigakure failure; they weren't reprimanded in the slightest. Both Miko and Deidara were thrown off at how they got off without a single word, granted they did bring back an up to date map of the village so maybe it wasn't a complete loss.

For a month after their makeup; Deidara was paired up with Tobi to track down the Sanbi, which wasn't too bad. Miko was sent on stealth missions to gather information since she wasn't needed to capture the beasts for the time being. It was unusual really. Miko would send Deidara a messenger owl at night to send letters every few days, with Deidara sending a letter back just hours later.

He'd gotten accustomed to seeing the familiar snowy owl every few days; it gave him a better outlet for venting how much Tobi annoyed him to hell and back. Deidara knew that he was possibly overreacting but going from two partners that he worked well with to a bumbling idiot wasn't exactly ideal.

What made it possibly worse was after capturing and sealing it away was they had lost Hidan and Kakuzu to a group of Konoha shinobi; which really put them in a bad spot when sealing away the tailed beasts; it taking longer to seal them away.

Eventually Deidara and Tobi had ventured off on their own; Deidara wanting to take down Sasuke Uchiha for killing Orochimaru since he took the kill. Tobi wasn't too keen on taking on the younger Uchiha.

"Ohhh! Deidara! Isn't that Miko down there?!" Tobi leaned over the clay bird he was on precariously; spotting the only female Akatsuki member that was out on the field as she was hopping through the dense forest.

Deidara leaned over the side of his bird and lo-and-behold it was her; though now he noticed her usual long hair was chopped down to just above her shoulders. "Oi, Miko!" He called out, his bird quickly descending to catch up with her. He hovered a few yards away from the trees that she was in.

She quickly stopped when she heard Deidara's voice, a wide grin spreading on her face as he got closer, "If I didn't know better I'd say you were following me Deidara." Miko waited for him to get closer before jumping up onto his bird.

A smug grin graced his face, "We see each other after a month, and that's the first thing you say to me? Someone obviously doesn't miss me, hm."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Miko leaned towards him, their faces inches away before it was interrupted by Tobi butting in.

"Ooo! You two are awfully close! Are you two secretly dating?" He covered the part of his mask where his mouth would be.

A scowl covered both their faces as they pulled away, "Its... _nice_ seeing you in person Tobi.." Miko muttered, "Anyways, what brings you both out here? I thought you were going after the Kyuubi."

"No, I have other plans." Deidara hummed; looking off to the side, "What are you doing going this way, hm?"

"Slowing down Uchiha to keep him from taking out Itachi; we can't lose more members or we'll have a harder time sealing away the jinchuriki."

It wasn't a bad idea but from what Deidara knew; she wasn't adept to countering genjutsu created by the sharingan. What did she have in mind with slowing down Sasuke?

"Come with us then. It's where I'm headed; we can team up again and take the younger Uchiha out without an issue, hm."

There was a short pause as she pursed her lips in thought; "It's not a bad idea, and worst case scenario; Tobi dies."

Tobi cried out in hurt, a hand going over his chest, "so cruel! I thought we were friends!"

A faint snort left Miko's throat as the words left Tobi's mouth, "Sure, we are." she reached up to tie her hair back into a low ponytail, "What's the plan Dei?"

"Simple really," He began; going into detail and backup plans just incase. What many people in the Akatsuki didn't realize was the attention to detailing that Deidara put into his plans; though it all does seem careless when looked at face value.

"Where do I fall into this plan if you need me?" Miko raised a brow, "Honestly, I think you can handle this without me."

Deidara held his hand up, "Thats where you're wrong, the sharingan can copy almost everything, _**except**_ , kekkei genkais. You can create snow; which if I'm correct, is your kekkei genkai. Not everyone can create snow and ice without water. What I need from you is cover to keep this isolated, hm."

Miko gave him a look before crossing her arms, "I mean; it's not a bad plan. Use the snow to mask the locations of you and your art to make it harder for him to detect them." she paused for a moment before nodding, "Alright I'm in, what about Tobi though?"

"He'll be useful for have I have planned, hm."

"I have a feeling this will be fun to watch."

The plan was pretty simple in layman's terms; Deidara would start off testing out how big his explosions needed to be and work his way up, Tobi would be there if he needed landmines buried under ground, which left Miko in the outer banks to cast her jutsus to throw him off. It was weird having a three-man team but more jutsus the better and having all three ranges covered is a great idea. Now if everyone stuck to their parts.

-0-0-0-

The C1s Deidara had used so far were not working; Sasuke could easily dodge them. While it was mildly annoying, it was interesting. Once he realized the C1s weren't working, he went on to test out his explosive clay dolls; which was very entertaining to watch the younger Uchiha cut down only for them to keep going after him. Once Sasuke realized that he was getting nowhere fast; he quickly lept into the trees to get away from the quickly reforming dolls.

Deidara was quick to start detonating the dolls, putting Sasuke on the defensive. However when he thought he finally ended the other; a burnt wooden log came flying out of the blast with a nearly unscathed Sasuke landing not too far from it. This irked Deidara but he was prepared as he shoved his hands into his clay pouches and then slammed his hands over each other creating a new masterpiece; activating it into its full size and splendor.

"Ta-da! Now presenting my partner's signature pieces! His specialty:The C2 dragon!" Tobi announced.

"You know what to do Tobi, hm?" Deidara hopped up on top of his newly created clay dragon.

"Yes siree partner! Are we going with _that_ Deidara?" Tobi seemed mildly excited with how the plan was going.

"Yup, _that_ is the plan." He put up a hand sign; a portion of the tail of said dragon collapsed in on itself; which quickly filled the mouth of the dragon. The dragon's mouth opened; revealing much bigger versions of his C1 explosives spilling out. "I'm counting on you Tobi, hm."

"Yes sir!" Tobi took a step back as Sasuke dashed forward, "Here he comes! Now let's really show him the power of your pop art, partner!"

"Pop is dead!" Deidara held up another hand sign, another portion of the tail disappeared, the dragon's mouth filling once more with a projectile bomb, "My art is _superflat_!" the projectile launched itself at Sasuke at full force.

Sasuke easily dodged it, but what he wasn't expecting was it to loop around and head for him still; blowing up when it got close enough. It was meant as a diversion; so Tobi could bury the mines underground without Sasuke noticing at first, which worked. When the dragon's wings began to flap; Sasuke made his move towards it. He needed to cut it down before Deidara took flight.

However; his range was only five meters, which Deidara was easily able to fly out of.

" _Deidara when do you need me to cast it?_ " Miko's voice came in through a small radio earpiece. She could see what was happening from a distance; but she couldn't hear what was going on outside of the explosions.

"If I fall out the air, do it; but so far I'm in full control." He raised a hand to his ear, "Just keep watch for now." Deidara put up another hand sign and created another projectile; "This one's got more bite. Blow him to bits, hm!" it launched immediately.

Speed was definitely Sasuke's strong suit as he dodged it; however he landed on a mine, which went off in moments, but much to Deidara's dismay, he survived with the curse mark be gained from Orochimaru.

Tobi broke from under the ground, "I set all of the landmine clay! We're ready to go!"

"Good job Tobi! Now just stay out of the way!"

Tobi saluted him before scrambling off the battlefield, knowing he was better off to the side. Miko kept watch from the sidelines, not liking the waiting game she had to play. Something just didn't feel right to her. The next explosion had gotten to Sasuke this time, completely demolishing one of his wings. His sword flew into the air and then embedded itself into the ground; an electric charge going through it. Unseen by Deidara; Sasuke had two very large shuriken stars attached to metal strings which he pulled to distract the other. It was easy dodging them.

Another bomb was now headed his way, but Sasuke was quick jumping up then using his sword as a foothold before launching himself upward and slicing off the wing of the dragon with his Chidori blade. Once Deidara was losing altitude, Sasuke gave another pull on the metal strings; the attached shuriken sinking into Deidara's arms and pinning him to his now falling dragon. Within moments it had hit the ground and the landmines around and under it went off in an array of explosions.

Miko felt her stomach sink for several moments when she saw Deidara's cloak flying through the air; Tobi cried out his name and began mourning immediately.

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up Tobi!?" Deidara snapped, now on a much smaller clay bird as he flew out of the smoke. Blood went down his arms and even some dripped out of his hand mouths.

"Wha- You're still alive?"

"Miko now!" Deidara called out, knowing she was somewhat within radio range.

"On it!" She answered, her position still not compromised. Miko performed the necessary hand signs for the jutsu, inhaling deeply before exhaling.

 _ **Snow style! Isolated Blizzard Unleashed!**_

Sasuke turned, looking around, "There's a third one?!"

Within moments the air became extremely cold and dark clouds covered the area. It was obvious that Sasuke was at a severe disadvantage as snow began to fall heavily in the area around him. He hadn't dealt with this type of jutsu since he was thirteen. This wasn't good.

"Cold! Cold! Cold!" Tobi cried out as he tried to find his way out of the storm, running blindly further into the forest around them.

Soon the snowfall began to quickly swirl into a blizzard with Deidara at the top of the storm. From the outside it looked extremely isolated, which it was. Sasuke tried to use his sharingan to see where the caster was located, but all he could see was a blur around him. While Sasuke was trying to find where Miko was hiding, Deidara was stewing in his own fury; angry that his plans wasn't working. He reached into his clay pouch and pulled out a large mass of it; chowing down immediately.

Once he had his fill; Deidara put his hand to his earpiece, "Get out of range! I'm about to use the Kurara C4, hm!"

" _If I get too far, the storm will weaken!_ "

" _ **Just do it!**_ "

Miko flinched at the yelling in her ear, the radio making his voice peak and distort a lot more than it would normally as she began to make her escape from the field. She vaguely knew what the C4 did; however she didn't want to be close enough to see what happened. Kurara C4 destroys any living creature in its range on a cellular level. Pretty damn scary for those who aren't expecting it. As Miko moved further from the blizzard, the weaker and weaker it became; eventually dissapaiting and revealing a massive Deidara copy. Sasuke started to make his way away from the giant explosive; the giant Deidara was hot on his heels.

Soon it began to swell; distorting the size before detonating; but there was no explosion. In fact it was silent, too silent for a bomb. However that's how it worked; the bombs were so small that they couldn't be seen with the naked eye and when inhaled, it was too late. You had to be outside of its range in order to survive.

" _Ha!_ " Deidara activated the miniature bombs, small creatures in the area quickly dissolving before his eyes and soon Sasuke began to disintegrate; or it appeared that he had.

Both Miko and Tobi were too far to tell what was going on originally before seeing Sasuke's chidori charged hand pierce Deidara's chest from behind. Then again, looks are deceiving; it was quickly shown that it was a clay clone when Deidara burst from the inside of the flying clay bird. He quickly created another, smaller Karura C4 than engulfed Sasuke. Deidara was determined to take out the younger Uchiha no matter what.

" _Deidara, I'm going to get further away from this area. I trust that you'll come find me after won't you?_ " Miko didn't want to accidentally get caught in the next massive blast, she valued her life and she hoped Deidara valued his own.

"Don't worry, I will. I promise." He answered as he fell from the clay bird, "I'll send something to retrieve you if I can't move, hm."

" _Good... I...I lo- I'll see you later okay?_ " She hoped that he didn't pick up on her small mistake, heading towards the local town to lay low undercover.

A faint grin spread over his face when he heard her voice waver for a second, "You still owe me dinner; don't worry, I'll hold you to it, hm." Deidara could hear her laugh before their radio went to static.

* * *

I decided to post the follow up story here also! Im actually close to the ending on my AO3 if you want more but over the next new days I'll be adding more chapters here!

APHC out!


	2. Chapter 2

" _Deidara is dead._ " Zetsu announced, " _but at least he went out with a bang._ "

The remaining members of the Akatsuki were gathered for a meeting, Itachi and Kisame at the Gedo statue while the others were scattered about and were attending in their projection forms.

Miko felt her stomach churn at the news, but remained silent. She should have known from the blast she saw once she made it into the town.

"Oh dear, it appears we lost another Akatsuki member." Kisame gave a fain chuckle, "I thought he was one of the strong ones too. So who did him in; was it Sasuke or the Kyuubi?"

" _It was Sasuke, however it appears that he has died as well._ "

Itachi remained unmoved as he heard the news of Sasuke's death.

"Deidara took him with him?" Kisame was mildly surprised at this development.

" _You should feel grateful Itachi, Deidara sacrificed his life to save you a lot of trouble._ " Zetsu added.

"I feel as if we are forgetting something..."

Miko began to tune out of the conversation after this, more focused on Deidara's death than anything else at the present time.

He detonated himself.

 _He detonated himself._

 ** _He detonated himself._**

She felt sick to her stomach at the news What was he thinking? Had he gotten so angry at Itachi's younger brother that he forgot his promise?

"...-osing Deidara is unfortunate. Let us mourn Deidara quietly." Pein announced, his projection form disappearing. Miko's disappearance followed soon after with Konan's then Zetsu's; leaving Itachi and Kisame alone.

"Wasn't Miko close to Deidara? I'm surprised she kept quiet at the announcement of his demise." Kisame turned to Itachi, "They were partners for a good while after all."

"Leave her be, we have matters to attend to." Itachi stated. "As our leader said, we will mourn quietly for our lost members."

-0-0-0-

Several days had passed and Miko was sitting in a room at an inn she had booked, just quietly staring at the wall as she absorbed the information she was given. He was dead, he wasn't going to give her any of his little art pieces anymore; they weren't going to talk about what kind of art was better or even going out to get dango anymore. She felt numb for the most part; she wanted to cry but at the same time she couldn't.

"Everything is such a mess." She leaned her head back against the wall, "I need to get fresh air."

At some point she forced herself to her feet and stripped down out of her cloak and clothes, changing into a set of civilian clothes, even leaving her headband behind. Maybe a few drinks would help her relax. Miko slipped on a mid-thigh dark purple yukata over the netted shirt and leggings she wore. It was pretty inconspicuous since most people didn't know what her face looked like outside of the bingo book; which had her wearing a icy pale blue mask over her lower face.

She slipped back on her shoes and set out, leaving the room for the evening. The town was bustling so maybe she'd find some entertainment for the evening.

Eventually she found herself at bar, sitting off to the side while staring down at her Akatsuki ring. Miko was never one for jewelry; she never understood why they all wore rings. She fiddled with it as she sipped at the hard liquor in her cup; recoiling at the bitter taste.

"Interesting ring you got there." A voice said from the left of her.

She looked at who she was speaking to before answering; Kakashi Hatake of all people, "Found it, nothing too special really." A lie, Miko knew who she was speaking with, she wasn't stupid.

"I see, I see." Kakashi seemed to pause, nodding at what he was told before turning towards the barkeeper, "Can I get something to drink?"

Miko looked back down at the ring on her finger, turning it so the face was hidden before lifting her cup back to her lips; finishing the unsavory drink in one go.

"Ahh, can I get a second one for my friend here?" Kakashi called out, "Her cup is empty."

She raised a brow at the other, confused at what he was doing, "I'm sorry, but I must be going, I have a funeral to prepare for."

"Loss of a loved one?"

There was a sudden tenseness in Miko's eyes, what was he getting at? "Something like that. Why does it matter to a shinobi of who dies? You probably have body counts in the hundreds with people who lost loved ones."

"Ahh, but it doesn't mean it doesn't weigh down on me from time to time." Kakashi tugged his infamous mask down enough for him to sip at his drink, "It's something to think about from time to time."

"I suppose so, I appreciate the drink but no thank you." she moved to stand, "Have a good night."

Kakashi looked at her from the corner of his eye, "Now, can't we have a simple chat, Miko Hirokei?"

Miko rightfully froze when she heard her name, "Its been ten years, I'm surprised you even remember my name Kakashi Hatake." She sat back down, her eyes narrowed at him.

"If you knew I was here, why try to be civil and not take me in?"

A faint chuckle left Kakashi, "How does someone from the frozen north find their way into the Akatsuki?"

"Oh you know, the murder of the council when finding the truth about why you were born." She rolled her eyes, "Leaving the frozen North and making my way to the mainland; rumors and truths follow."

"From what I heard was, you mindlessly went on a rampage."

"Of course you did, the Snow would do anything for pity these days. Maybe twelve years ago, when we asked for help you and your five 'great' nations actually followed through, just maybe I would still be there." She had every right to feel bitter towards the other villages; time and time again the Yukigakure had been asking for help but it was never fulfilled which made the village fall into isolation. They were fed lies by the mainland and over and over again people died due to lack of resources.

Kakashi paused once more, "You didn't answer my question."

"There's no reason to. If we are done here, I will take my leave." Miko stood up and turned to leave, placing money on the counter as she stepped away, "Have a good night." With a single handed hand sign; she was gone in a flurry of snowflakes.

-0-0-0-

The following morning wasn't very welcomed when Miko woke up, sure she didn't drink a very much the previous night but she didn't drink much water the day before. It was a good while before she rolled out of bed and trudged to the bathroom to shower and get dressed. She felt like death even after the hot shower she had taken but she had work to do. It felt wrong to wear the cloak now; she didn't have much reason to truly remain in the Akatsuki. She'd probably be partnered up with Zetsu at this point, who knows; their numbers were quickly dwindling.

She wanted out, out of this failing organization, out of whatever delusion they all had for bringing down the five great nations. Maybe she'd go rogue and spill everything to Konoha; no, they'd probably think she would double cross them. She had to find a way out of the mess she found herself in.

"Thank you so much for staying with us, please come again." The receptionist took the key for the room Miko had paid for, quickly tucking it into the cabinet with the other empty rooms.

Miko put her wide brimmed had on, giving a nod to the receptionist and left the building, making her way out of town. She made a small stop at a flower cart; purchasing several lilies with gladiouses. She thanked the shopkeeper before taking off towards where Deidara had died. She'd at least leave a grave marker to give herself piece of mind and pay her final respects. It had been years since the pang of death really hit Miko; she didn't miss it in the slightest.

It wasn't long before she made her way to ground zero; flowers in hand with a solemn look on her face. Miko pulled a kunai out of her pouch before crudely digging a shallow hole in the ground to place the flowers into.

"It's not my best, but, I'm at least trying." She sat down on her knees before sighing, "You're the absolute worst, I can't believe you left me behind you selfish jerk-. What am I supposed to do with you gone? Who's going to make jabs at me for artist things I don't understand?" Miko's voice cracked; doing her best to fight the burning sensation in her eyes.

"I still owe you dinner; what am I supposed to do about it now?" There wasn't much fighting when her head lowered, her tears freely falling to the ground, "I can't believe you thought it was necessary to blow yourself up to prove a point to that kid."

Miko sat there for at least fifteen minutes, her tears drying up after five minutes; "God my face hurts..." she rubbed what was left of her tears off her face before getting up to her feet, dusting off her cloak before leaving the crater left by Deidara's demise.

"Alright, time to get mo-"

"Hey you!" A voice yelled out from a distance.

Miko turned towards the voice; oh boy, she was definitely outnumbered. There were at least seven or eight leaf shinobi running her way; one of them had a large dog and one was in the air with what looked like a bird made of paint. She made sure to have a good look at who she was dealing with; a member from the Aburame clan, a Hyuuga, an Inuzuka, she knew of Kakashi and Yamato, if her memory served her right the girl with pink hair had taken out Sasori, then the one in the sky.

"You're from the Akatsuki aren't you?!"

"You aren't very bright if you have to ask." Miko deadpanned, "From the looks of it and from your entourage, you must be the Kyuubi jinchuuriki; Naruto Uzumaki." She placed a hand on her hip, "Such a big group for one single Akatsuki member..."

She brought a hand up to her chin, "Well, I guess since you're here, I should capture you. It was either kill Sasuke or capture the Kyuubi..."

Everyone got on the defensive, not taking any chances with Miko if she made a sudden move.

"Look, I'm just here to do my job, we can do this the easy way and you _willingly_ come with me or, force can be used." Miko unbuttoned her cloak, "And trust me, only one of you; maybe two, here know who I am."

Kakashi stepped forward, having his arm in front of Naruto, "You're severely outnumbered, do you think you can really take on all eight of us?"

"Kakashi, you've read the bingo book; why don't you give your kids the heads up of who I am." Miko placed a hand on her hip.

His visible eye narrowed, "Keep your distance from her; she's a close and mid range fighter. She's known as the _Sculptor of Death_ ; Miko Hirokei of the Yukigakure."

Sai narrowed his eyes down at Miko; "She's known for leaving her victims frozen once they are dead. They don't die of the cold, but instead they die of starvation and dehydration after being frozen. They are completely conscious when they are left for dead."

"Ooo, so you have done your homework, I'm impressed." A faint grin spread over Miko's face, "What else did that little book tell you?"

"You're from the Shiyuko clan; a very small desolate clan that are some of the few who can create ice and snow without being near water." Sai finished, "One of the more dangerous clans of the snow."

Miko pursed her lips before clapping her hands, "Sounds about right, yep. Looks like you've gotten most of your bases covered." Her hands stopped when her palms met once more, "Honestly, I have no interest in capturing the kyuubi. I have no interest in even remaining in the Akatsuki anymore. A good chunk of my comrades have died if you couldn't tell; I don't plan on dying anytime soon. All I will say is, keep the kid off the grid."

She turned heel to leave, "Trust me on this, get him as far away as possible." Miko stopped after a few steps, "Also, to answer your question Kakashi from last night; I joined with the promise to reform my home village. The Yukigakure may look like its thriving but look into the smaller villages in the land. The people are suffering and dying, the snow doesn't show any kindness when you have nothing." She turned her head to look at him, "Maybe talk to your hokage about helping or any of the kages for the matter; snow and ice can be a great ally when shown kindness and warmth."

With those words, Miko vanished in a swirl of snow; leaving the group of Konoha shinobi confused.

* * *

here's chapter two!

If you want to read more of the story, my AO3 is "APH_Cupcake_Writings"

APHC out!


	3. Chapter 3

Hours had passed since her run in with the leaf shinobi; it gave her plenty of time to think as she jumped through the trees. She really didn't want to be apart of the Akatsuki anymore, it appeared to be a losing fight.

"What a nuisance this is..." She sighed, stopping for the time being, "Kakuzu, Hidan, probaby Tobi and Deidara..." Miko counted off on her fingers, her stomach twisting at Deidara's name, "Who knows who might die ne-"

"Wah! Ms. Miko you're alive!" She was knocked off the branch she was on by Tobi from, who had his arms and legs clamped around her as they fell to the ground. "I'm so glad you survived the blast too!" He cried as they hit the ground hard.

Miko struggled against his grip, not happy that he knocked her down to the ground, "Let me go, you idiot!" it took a few moments of struggling before she was freed from him, "You didn't have to tackle me!" She was rightfully angry, "I've told you time and time again to _not_ do that!"

Tobi covered his head, cowering almost, "I'm sorry! When I found out Deidara had died I was worried that you did!"

"I got away before he detonated, where the hell have you been?"

"Deep underground! It was the safest place to be when I saw the blast coming!"

Something about that explanation didn't seem right; it felt... off.

Miko picked herself up and patted herself down, "If you could see the blast, you should have been dead or missing a chunk of your body Tobi, your excuse is bullshit."

"I swear I'm telling the truth! I'm not a liar!" Tobi got up and panicked, his hands waving around frantically as he tried to defend himself, "I'm a pro-escape artist! So it's not unheard of for me to be able to get out of bad situations!"

"Bullshit! That explosions lasted several seconds and left a crater, how the hell did you survive Tobi?" She grabbed his collar, pulling him down to her eye level. The moment she made eye contact with his semi visible eye through the hole in his mask she immediately back off, stepping away.

"What the hell was that?" Miko swore for half a moment she saw a Sharingan, "Explain that!"

The aura around Tobi immediately changed, it went from his usual light-hearted feel to intimidating and cold. "You should have just accepted my answer." His voice was completely different; it sent a chill down her spine. He took a step towards her, she took a step back. "Four people now know my secret; three of which I can trust. You know, the number four is a bad luck number. Maybe I should get rid of you to make sure you don't cause me any bad luck in the future."

This was bad, really bad. This wasn't the Tobi she knew; the guy was an absolute idiot. Whoever this was; they were bad news. Miko has experienced killing intent but this was beyond what she's ever experienced.

"I knew something was off when you were brought in-. You we too laid back and incompetent-." Miko narrowed her eyes, ready for him to make the first move. "Just who the hell are you?"

Tobi only continued to walk towards her as she backed away before suddenly disappearing. Miko broke out into a cold sweat, kunai in hand now for the attack. She didn't like this feeling at all. It wasn't until seconds later she knew where he was but it was too late, Tobi's foot connected to her back and sent her flying through a tree. The force of the kick and impact disoriented her long enough for Tobi to get another kick in, sending her flying up into the air next. Miko felt she was going to vomit but gathered her bearings enough mid air to block his punch; getting in a kick of her own to his chest.

Miko landed hard on her side but was quick to get up to block the sword aimed for her side, looking up for a swift moment to parry his sword away. She used one hand to perform a set of hand sign, inhaling deeply before exhaling ice senbon needles at him. Each senbon went through him as if he was a genjutsu.

"What the hell-." She kicked him away, or tried to as her foot went through him. She didn't waste any time flipping back out of the way to get away from him. Miko needed to get out of this fight fast or she wasn't going to make it out alive. All she could do for now is run and block any attacks her way. She let out a loud cough, a metallic taste filling her mouth as he ran.

Fear coursed through her as Tobi kept coming after her, he was hellbent on killing Miko no matter what.

"Whats wrong Miko? Why aren't you fighting back?" He called out, "It's funny to think you assumed you could take me on!" Tobi began to throw out a barrage of kunai and shuriken as he chased after her

Miko dodged the best she could, the weapons slicing through her cloak and whipping past her face. Eventually she shed her cloak, using it as a diversion to swing around a massive tree to throw Tobi off. She held her breath when she heard him pass, only letting it out when she was sure that he was far enough, immediately turning to run in the other direction. However, she was wrong, dead wrong as she saw him; a sharp feeling shooting through her abdomen. A rough cough tore through her as she looked down; he'd impaled her on a rod.

"That was almost cute, you're terrible with concealing your chakra you know?" Tobi twisted the rod harshly, ripping another cough from her as blood dripped out of her mouth.

A faint grin spread over her face, "C-cute that you assumed I was trying to-." it was quickly revealed that it was an ice shadow clone.

Tobi sucked his teeth before ripping the rod from the ice, "So she's not completely stupid." he turned his head at the moment the real Miko's foot came crashing into his mask, breaking a chunk of it off before disappearing once more.

"Don't underestimate your opponent! First rule you should have learned in the academy!" Miko's voice could be heard.

Soon the air temperature quickly dropped and snow began to fall quickly around him, it was her blizzard jutsu once again. He's seen this song and dance before; he wasn't phased in the slightest as he walked through the storm, searching for Miko. Stop the user, stop the jutsu; his only issue was he couldn't see past all the chakra filled snow whirling around him.

"Now now, you can't honestly believe I will fall for this?" Tobi raised his hands up and gave a faint laugh, "you're so predictable."

"You haven't even seen phase two of this!" Before Tobi could react, a flash of black and blue went past him, the sleeve of his cloak tearing.

"Oh?"

The flash of black and blue continued, the cuts becoming deeper and deeper. However Tobi began to pick up a pattern with her attacks and it wasn't long before he managed to grab her by the hair and slam her down into the ground, but that was also a snow substitution.

"Keeping your distance and making clones I see, how many can you make while keeping this jutsu up?" Each time there was a flash, he would immediately destroy the clone. However it was exactly what Miko wanted.

Her snow acted in two ways, it gave her the ability to move as fast as she wanted, but it could also deplete an enemy's chakra supply the longer they stayed in the storm. Miko just needed to keep it up long enough to disorient him so she could make a proper escape, but if only that's how things went.

"I'm tired of entertaining this game of yours."

"Who said I was playing?!"

Tobi had vanished from inside of the storm, which put Miko on high alert once more. She felt pain shooting through her body; immobilizing her. Miko looked behind her and there Tobi was standing over her with two black rods going through her body. She was over eight meters away from him, how did he pinpoint her location so fast? She was hidden in very thick shrubbery, there was no way he could have seen her at such a distance. Within moments her jutsu disintegrated and one of her arms tried to keep herself standing.

"H-How did you-" Miko covered her mouth as blood oozed past her lips, falling to her knees.

A dark chuckle left Tobi, "As I said before, you're terrible at chakra suppression." He twisted one of the rods in his hand; earning a pain cry from Miko's mouth. "You should have listened, maybe you could have avoided such a death at my hands."

"You know, it's funny really, you had a lot of potential, just like Deidara but you are too brash." he ripped both rods from her body, letting it collapse, "You're pretty resilient, I have to admit. However, this is the end for yo-"

Right as he raised one of the rods in his hand, a kunai knocked it out of his hand before a flurry of them came flying at him; only for them to go right through him.

"Oh?" He looked towards the direction of where they came from; right when he did; Miko was dragged underground immediately with his attention off of her. Things were definitely getting interesting now; just who came to her rescue?

* * *

"Put her down quickly!"

"I can't believe someone apart of the same organization as her could do such a thing... Do you think you can save her?"

"If you give me space I can! With what limited supplies I have right now it doesn't look good for her, he ruptured several of her organs with whatever he used on her and she's suffered heavy blood loss."

An array of voices swirled around Miko; she couldn't tell who was talking as she felt a flow of chakra go through her body. It took so much effort to open her eyes enough to see colors and shapes; pink hair and orange clothes. It seemed familiar yet at the same time her mind was too fuzzy to truly think straight enough put the pieces together.

"Its not right that he just tried to take her out like that Sakura! Sure she's the enemy but it was obvious she was at a big disadvantage!"

"I just said I'll do my best! Naruto you need to get out my tent right now and send in Hinata, I need her eyes."

"Right! On it!"

The Konoha shinobi were helping her? What a laugh, they'll probably interrogate her once she's healed up and held prisoner. Dying like this didn't scare her, they were ninjas, their kind died every day over petty squabbles or in things they couldn't control. And yet... she wanted to live, she wanted to get back at Tobi for what he just did to her, even if it meant aligning herself with the enemy.

"Hinata, can you keep an eye on her chakra network while I work?"

"Y-yes, I can do that!"

Miko started to feel sleepy, everything felt heavy as she began to lose consciousness; despite everything she felt warm. She didn't know if it was due to Sakura healing her but it felt... nice. Everything started to slow down for her; rewatching all of her best and worst moments as her mind became more blurry. As the events in her head continued to play, a familiar long haired blonde filled her vision. Laughter, arguments, fighting together, and with each other; all of it put a weak smile on her face before an explosion filled her mind, then a tear went down her cheek.

Maybe, just maybe, she'll see Deidara in the afterlife or meet him in another life. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?

* * *

"How's it looking Sakura?" Kakashi was waiting outside of her tent. He noticed the snowstorm in the forest before the others did when it had started; something just didn't feel right.

It started then ended too abruptly; Naruto ended up running towards the source of it all and saw one Akatsuki with a broken orange mask standing over the other member with the killing blow ready. Kakashi had followed after him, unprepared for the sight before him.

Luckily for Miko, Kakashi was a quick thinker and had Naruto create a distraction while he saved the dying Akatsuki.

Sakura made a face, sighing faintly, "She's stable but, we need to get her to a hospital; my field kits can only do so much. Isn't there one not too far away from here? If we hurry I can definitely save her, Kakashi-sensei."

"Can we move her? I have no doubt in your abilities but her injuries were life threatening."

"More reason to get her to proper facilities, if you really want me to save her, we need to move as quickly as possible. Sensei, we both know time is valuable. Send Shino with me as backup while you an Captain Yamato head further on."

Kakashi didn't like the idea of losing two members of their party; however, the closest hospital was roughly two kilometers away. It was a hard decision.

"Alright, we'll meet at the upcoming canyon river in two days; that should give you enough time, right?"

Sakura gave him a firm nod, "It'll leave me tight on time but once I know she's in the clear, I'll head to where you were going."

"I'll tell Shino the plan, get packed up and her ready to be moved."

"Yes Kakashi-Sensei!"

* * *

 _"I'll kill him! I can't believe he did that to her, hm!"_

 _"Now you know why I chose you as part of my plan. Kisame is too devoted to the organization, Zetsu is also, Pein and Konan are pawns also. You are the only one left who has no direct ties to any of this."_

 _"I just, why couldn't we tell her? She would have understood the situation! Right now she's in the Leaf's hands, hm!"_

 _"Not with Tobi so close to you, he would have known you were aware. We'll retrieve her when she's in the clear, for now we stick to the plan."_

 _A disgruntled noise came from the other, "Fine, only because I don't plan on letting them keep her, hm."_

* * *

 _Beep... Beep...Beep_

A weak groan left Miko's lips, her head throbbing at the sound to her left. She wasn't dead, that's a surprise; whether it was good or bad, would be decided when she found out where she was.

 _Beep... Beep...Beep..._

She didn't know what was worse, the bitter taste in her mouth or the beeping. Either way, she wanted it to stop. Miko moved to raise her hand, only for it to get caught partially on the way up. She didn't like the clang she heard with it. Eventually she opened her eyes, wincing at the bright artificial lights. There were a number of tubes connected to her body, a heart monitor and an oxygen tank. The room was sterile looking and smelling; Miko hated it.

"Where..." She mumbled, she tried to force herself to sit up, hissing loudly as the surge of pain flooding her system. Soon Miko realized both of her hands were restrained, much to her dismay.

"You shouldn't be moving. You might open your stitches."

"Where am I? Why can't I move?" the taste in her mouth made her cringe at each word she spoke.

"A hospital. We have you restrained for a reason."

Miko finally looked over to the side, pink hair. The other wasn't in her clothes she was in when they met, instead she was in her hospital uniform, "The medic nin... Why did you...?"

"Not right now." Sakura shook her head, "we need you to tell us what happened."

"And what if I don't?"

"I'm not interrogating you, I'm asking as a medical professional." Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, "How about I release one of your hands and let you sit up for the time being?"

It was a tempting offer, she didn't want to be laying on her back anymore, "...Fine, I agree."

"Good." Sakura wasn't an idiot, she had noticed which hand Miko had originally lifted was more than likely her dominate hand so she went for the other, much to Miko's dismay. "Now talk."

"Gee, thanks." Miko used her now freed hand to force herself into a sitting position, "How long have I been out?"

"A week and a half, we had you transported to Konoha after two days in another hospital. Some...very interesting things had happened... We got word of Itachi Uchiha's death just a few days ago as well.."

Miko's face twisted at the news, obviously not happy with being in enemy territory, even more unhappy with yet another death of who she considered a friend, "The man with the orange mask, Tobi, wasn't who I assumed he was. He isn't this bumbling moron most of us in the Akatsuki thought he was. When he realized I found out what he was, he was set on terminating me. That's basically it, the last thing I fully remember was having a set of rods through my stomach then being pulled underground." She closed her eyes, "Once I'm healed up, I'll be held prisoner won't I?"

"Yes you will." The door to the room suddenly slammed open; revealing Tsunade, Ibiki and Inoichi, "Sakura, you are dismissed." Tsunade stated as she walked in.

"But milady-."

"I said _you are dismissed_ Sakura."

"R-Right-." Sakura flinched at her tone, quickly leaving the room as Tsunade's eyes landed on Miko.

"Never thought I'd see the day a kage would _grace_ me with their presence." Miko pulled at her restraint, openly scowling at Tsunade, "And you brought in the Interrogation and torture force, yippee."

"You can hand over the information we want the easy way or the hard way." Tsunade took a step forward towards the bed, completely stone faced.

"You and your entire village can go to hell. If it's about the plans that the Akatsuki has; I don't know, we are just given missions to do. I'm fairly new so I really don't know anything. If you are so hell bent on knowing, have the Yamanaka check the last eight or so months." Miko spat, "I have no ties to that organization anymore, you might as well just ship me back to Yuki after all of this."

"How do you know we won't just execute you after this?"

"Simple, I am the most wanted kunoichi from the Yukigakure; they want my head, I haven't done anything to Konoha, hell, I hate this place. It's too hot, too sunny, too bright. The shadows is where I belong the best."

"Inoichi." Tsunade started, giving him a knowing look as he gave a nod as he walked over to the other side of the hospital bed.

Before he could even raise his hands to her head she grabbed one of his arms with her free hand, " **_Only the last nine months_ **." She hissed, "I will know when you tamper too deep." she shoved his hand away before sitting still.

Inoichi was taken aback at her reaction, raising his hands once more to perform the needed hand seals then placing his hands over her head; closing his eyes in the process. He saw what she had gone through just a week ago; when she saw the sharingan in Tobi's eye, him trying to kill her then the blurry vision she had. He saw her placing flowers where Deidara had died. Then her trying to help him fight Sasuke. He saw their makeup in the snow, then their fight the months prior. He delved deeper, seeing her fighting Kakuzu and Itachi, and losing, when she was to be recruited into the Akatsuki.

He had started to delve even further skipping years to when before she left her home village. Inoichi knew he had his own mission to find out why she had defected, what made her turn.

 _"Ge_he h_way! You a_ur daug_r! We re_et eve_ helpi_te you!"_

 _'_ __ko. _ppe_. Can be_sed_aga_mai_nd Jin_riki-'_

 _'Host is showing signs of recovery; she will soon take ANBU test for admittance; much to the Daimyo's pleasure. She will still be under heavy watch for the time bei_.'_

 _'Test of mission was a success, the Host[Miko] has remained in full control of the beast. Signs are showing positive results. The host however is currently under therapy over teammates deaths; their deaths were not in vain for these results'_

 _'..- Miko Hirokei [previously Shiyuko] was a successful host for the snow beast; she has full control over the chakra of it and a high immunity to the cold. Soon we will start testing her stability over it with a false mission that will cause the death of both her teammates; Saiya Daiko and Yukiko Tsuyakuro.'_

 _'Sealing the beast so far has been a success; the host[Miko Shiyuko] shows no signs of rejecting nor does the beast. We will keep a close eye on the host's upbringing to prevent the same mistake the mainland has done with their tailed beast hosts. Tasks; find suitable shinobi willing to raise her as their own while knowing what she is, keep a sealing corps member always near her, consistently test strength of the sealing jutsu to ensure they can not be separated.'_

The words flashed over Inoichi's vision before he felt his arms freeze, ripping him straight out of the jutsu.

When he opened his eyes the pale blue lines around Miko's eyes were more pronounced; creating pseudo cracked ice lines over her cheeks. His hands were stuck in ice as it filled the now freezing room. There were large ice shards around said kunoichi; protective almost as she wheezed heavily. She looked sick, her bedding had what looked like blood and stomach bile mixed staining the blanket.

" _I told you to not go past it_!" She turned, her voice uneven as she ripped her hand from now frozen over cuffs. "You didn't listen!" Despite how sick she felt, anger overrode any pain and nausea she was feeling. Her heart was racing as she saw not only Tsunade but Ibiki launch at her.

She wasn't going to let herself be caught. Miko knew her fight or flight was unneeded but; she wasn't going to let any more secrets be seen. She started to yank tubes and needles out before she looked frantically around the room. In a split moment she jumped out of a open window, quickly making her way out of the hospital.

Soon the whole village was on high alert, notifying all available shinobi to track down and capture Miko. However she wasn't easy to capture; her personal special was stealth; she knew how to hide without an issue. Though it was hard for her when the ANBU stepped in and began searching for her; which started to make her more desperate to make her escape out of the village. Miko had never officially been inside the walls of Konoha, she knew nothing of the layout.

Soon she was back into a dead end, two ANBU at the other end of the path walking towards her. Miko wasn't having it as she leapt into the air, a rock cutting into her foot as she went from rooftop to rooftop. Her foot quickly froze over to prevent herself from leaving a trail, not needing for the leaf to be able to capture her so easily. She saw a way out; the five hokage monument. If what Itachi had told her months prior; behind the monument was an exit only he knew about that went underground. She just had to look for his marker; whatever it was.

It wasn't long before she had a group of shinobi on her tail, some getting too close to comfort.

" _HA_!" A loud explosion went off behind Miko, stalling her in her tracks as a flash of blonde and white grabbed onto her, scooping her up into their arms and flying off with her.

Miko was too much in shock too say anything as she looked up at the man holding her. What the hell was going on-.

"Did you miss me, hm?" Deidara grinned down at her; in the flesh!

Oh, she was going to kill this man once she got her answers out of him but for now she clung to Deidara like her life depended on it,

* * *

i forgot about this and am late posting the earlier chapters lmao

I hope you all like!


	4. Chapter 4

There he was, holding onto her tightly as they flew off on his clay bird. He wasn't dead, she could feel the warmth of his skin against her own freezing. She didn't recognize the clothes he was wearing, granted he always had either wore his cloak with the grey pants and fishnet shirt or the clothes she had prepared for missions. The green kimono top really did suit him.

"I...I don't know whether I want to kiss you or kill you myself right now." Miko stared up at Deidara, conflicting emotions flooding her mind, "The only explanation is that I'm dead- The dead doesn't just come back-."

"Honestly I'd prefer the first option, however you aren't dead, hm. You'll get answers when we get to our destinat-" Without any hesitation Miko had punched him as hard as she could, knocking them both off the bird.

" _Shit-_." As the ground got closer, she realized that she definitely wasn't dead or dreaming and started to perform hand signs before a sharp pain tore through her side. Through everything she went through, she had ripped open her stitches and little voice reminded her of what Sakura had said about moving too suddenly.

She was getting close to the trees before she was grabbed again, this time by the tail of the bird Deidara had. He'd already gotten back on the bird within moments of being knocked off and had barely caught Miko before she fell into the trees.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"I thought you were dead, you asshole! Two weeks! Two weeks I thought you were dead! I'm gonna end you myself, you jerk!"

"You can end me when you aren't bleeding all over yourself, hm!"

"I'm not even bleeding a lot!" She did look down at her hospital gown, which in fact had a blood stain that was slowly growing, "Alright, I stand corrected."

Deidara grumbled as he rubbed his face, "You have been one of the very few people who has punched me in the face you know, hm." he knew it was going to swell up before they got to where he was heading.

"I'm gonna hit you again when I get the chance.." Miko's voice suddenly dropped, "I thought you died, I cried, I even bought flowers and left it at where the crater you left. You're so brash that blowing yourself up was an actual possibility, something I know you would do if pushed to a certain point. Dammit, I was legitimately thinking of deserting the Akatsuki after your death, so far they have done _nothing_ to help me with my goals to reform my home village." she felt her eyes begin to burn once more, "You're the absolute worst Deidara-."

Guilt shot through Deidara's chest when he listened, "I...I'll tell you everything when we are not out in the open. It's a long story, hm." he moved to pull her out of the tail, "How do you feel with all that bleeding?" He maneuvered her to sit next to him, keeping his arm around her waist firmly.

She frowned, "Like hell... I was kicked through a tree, into the air then impaled twice. Not to mention I was chased through a village I don't know. I guess I should thank you for saving me." Miko leaned her head against his shoulder, "How the hell did you manage surviving."

"I'll tell you once we land. Just... lets just enjoy the view, hm."

"I guess..."

Their flight only took about two more hours to complete, Miko had fallen asleep by the time they landed in an abandoned village left by the Iwagakure. It was carved into a trench which had plenty of trees for cover at the top. It was very well hidden from those who would attempt to find it. It was quiet and dangerous if you weren't careful, which Deidara was. He knew the area like the back of his hand, granted, this place used to be his old stomping grounds before he defected.

Once the bird landed, he shifted Miko in his arms and carried her inside of one of the cave houses, "Hey I'm back!"

"Bring her back here to the room, I have to check over her to make sure she's completely healed." A voice called out from deeper inside, "Or going to completely heal."

"Yeah yeah, she's sleeping for the time being and I think she tore her stitches from the Konoha hospital, hm."

"Lay her on the bed and go check on the other, I'm still preparing for his procedure. He'll need a few days to recover from his fight before I can continue with him." Once Deidara walked into a brightly lit room, the other voice was revealed.

A woman roughly the same height as Deidara was standing there in hospital clothes; the room she was in was freshly cleaned by her for medical uses. She had long blond hair that she kept pulled back in a waist long braid and dark blue eyes, at first glance she could easily be mistaken for Deidara's sibling or relative from how similar they looked.

"I really appreciate you doing this Saiya, hm." He laid Maiko down on the bed.

Saiya shook her head, "you don't have to thank me Deidara. I'm doing my part in this plan. I'm surprised I was contacted on by both of you."

"How did you even meet him? You lived in Iwa not to far from me, hm."

"Itachi found me close to death and left me with the guard of the Iwa before disappearing. Remember? I was twelve and a chunin. Our first out of country mission, and my supposed death sentence for just being her friend." Saiya looked down at Miko, a sad smile on her face, "now leave, last thing I want is you watching me as I work."

Deidara huffed before leaving the room, closing the door behind himself.

"Ten years is such a long time isn't it, snowball? We lived such different lives."

* * *

Miko groaned when she woke up, at least this time she didn't have the bitter metallic taste in her mouth now, though now it was strangely minty. She slowly sat up, she didn't recognize anything in the room. At least now she could move around freely without pain, though she was sure it was due to pain medication.

"Where am I?" Miko looked around, carefully getting out of the bed she was in. She quickly noticed the purple yukata she was in, it was similar to her old clothes from the Yukigakure when she was younger, that... Was odd. It was a bit tight in the stomach area but she'd deal with it.

"Deidara? Where are you?" Miko called out once she left the room she was in. It was strange, the walls were stone, however the floor had wood paneling. There were no photos on the walls, nothing giving any details on where she was. It was strange. She didn't like this.

"Deidara?" She called out again, unsure where to go from this point. One way went towards more closed doors, the other went towards a opening further down the hallway. She went down where the opening was, keeping her guard up.

"Oh good, you're awake Miko." Saiya looked towards the doorway, a ladle in hand. She was in the kitchen preparing food, "have a seat at the table, I'll explain everything."

Miko didn't move from her spot, awestruck at Saiya. She wasn't dead, she was right there cooking as if she hadn't disappeared ten years ago.

"I... I-I don't understand? How? You had a **_sword_ **through **_your chest_ **." Miko hesitated before stepping into the kitchen, unsure on how to react. Before Saiya could speak Miko had her arms tightly wrapped around her shoulders, her face pressed into Saiya's shoulder, " _you're real..._ ** _You're alive_ **-"

Saiya blinked a few times before smiling sadly, wrapping her arms back around Miko, "I missed you, snowball. I know I owe you one hell of an explanation."

"Like hell you do! Its been ten years, _ten long years_! I thought you were dead! Wait-," Miko pulled away from Saiya, holding her at arms length, "What about Kiko?"

"She really died that day, its not your fault, you know that right?"

"Yes it was! If you both weren't my closest friends you would still be home with your parents and Kiko would be with her brother." Miko shook her head, "If I wasn't the host none of us would be here."

"You think I held it against you? I chose that mission with the inkling that I probably wouldn't be going home. I was a skilled medical nin, in fact I'm better than I used to be. Snowball, I was chosen to be your friend, I was happy that we were friends, and that we are reunited." Saiya cupped her cheeks before pressing their foreheads together, "Sit down and relax, this will be the only time you can. Once our friend is healed up, we are kicking it up to overdrive and training until it's time."

"Time? Time for what?"

"The next Shinobi war." Deidara walked into the kitchen next and sat down, "I promised you an explanation didn't I, hm?"

Miko gave a hesitant nod before sitting across from Deidara, "How do you know each other?"

Saiya placed a bowl of stew in front of Miko, "When I was on the brink of death, I was taken to the Iwagakure, I spent a month in a coma. Once I was healed up, old man Tsuchikage assigned me to Deidara's team since I was a medical nin and knew sealing jutsus, which wasn't a bad idea but when this idiot stole a scroll with a certain kinjutsu he loves now, he left. Granted I have no loyalties to neither the snow or stone, I bided my time and saved before leaving the village and came here to the abandoned trench village and lived in peace until two months ago." She filled a second bowl and put it in front of Deidara.

"I'm not technically a rogue shinobi, I don't do anything, I travel to local villages and work as a practitioner of sorts, get paid, then disappear once more." She shrugged, "Now, I think it's time for Deidara to tell you everything else."

There was a short pause before Deidara opened his mouth to speak, "Its all Itachi's plan really. When we saw each other two months ago when we went to the Yukigakure. He and I made eye contact for a brief moment, he used his stupid genjutsu to tell me we needed to talk when we returned. I didn't want to but there was something about the urgency in his voice when I was under the genjutsu." He shoved a spoonful of stew into his mouth, "So when we got back, I sought him out. I don't know why I did, maybe something deep down in me knew something was wrong, hm."

"Through another genjutsu, he told me everything. Tobi is behind everything, that bastard. He is the true mastermind behind the Akatsuki. Pein, Konan, neither of them really know what the true nature of the Gedo statue is. Granted neither does Itachi and I but I have a hunch." He leaned back in his chair, "Now, I like to think of myself as a genius-."

"Debatable." Miko interrupted, earning a very offended look from Deidara, "Very debatable."

"As I was saying." Deidara huffed, shooting a dirty look at Miko, "It reminds me of the jinchuuriki forms from old pictures I've seen. That bastard Itachi basically is relying on the three of us to help him prevent Tobi's plans."

"isn't...Itachi dead? That's what that one pink haired leaf told me."

"Like Uchiha would go down easy." Deidara motioned towards Saiya to pick up from where he left off.

"I've been making a special medicine for Itachi to take for his illness, in his last fight I gave him a serum that would cause a fake death in a certain time limit. Luckily it worked, Itachi is a genius honestly, he could have been a Hokage if things went differently for him." Saiya sat down, "Right now he's resting due to the potency but he's well and alive, albeit without his eyes."

Miko choked on her food, hitting her chest a few times, "I'm sorry, _what_?"

"It's a weird thing with the Uchiha clan, the sharingan doesn't last long when initially activated. Sure their visual prowess is exceptional-" This earned a snort from Deidara, who was immediately elbowed by Saiya, " _however_ the Sharingan will cause vision deterioration and subsequence blindness, the only way to combat it is to switch eyes with another Uchiha that has the Mangekyou Sharingan fully activated to fully awaken their Sharingan." She finished explaining, "Its literally the four of us when this war hits the fan, all we can hope is that things go to plan."

"What _is_ the plan? You both are beating around the bush about this." Miko let out an irritated sigh, "I get we have to stop Tobi and whoever is left when this war starts but what is the actual gameplan."

"You just have to wait for Itachi to wake up, it'll be a few days, gives you time to heal before we start all training, hm." Deidara got up to give himself a second serving of stew, more interested in the food than the incapacitated Uchiha member.

A faint grumble left Miko's lips before nodding, "I should be healed up soon. I'm going to go lay back down, I think I'll sleep for a while." She stood from the table and made her way out of the kitchen, "Thank you for the food Saiya, I appreciate it."

Once she was gone, Saiya turned to Deidara with an bemused expression, "You should talk to her, you owe her at least that."

"I know that but I'm going to let her cool down or I'll get punched again, hm."

Silence filled the room before Saiya reached over and flicked Deidara's nose hard, "You really are dumb, you _need_ to talk to her. I saw the way she looked at you when you were speaking. She's happy that you aren't dead but what you did was incredibly selfish. I knew her for the majority of our childhood before I nearly died and was basically held captive by Iwa until a few years ago. She prefers people to be up front." She stood, "I'm going to check on Itachi; for once in your life, be smart about something." and with that, Deidara was left alone.

"I'll have you know, I'm plenty smart-!" He called out before slumping in his chair, grumbling to himself.

* * *

Deidara shifted uncomfortably on his feet as he stood outside of Miko's door, having a small peace offering in hand in the form of dango. "Hey, can I come in, hm?" he called out.

"I'm still upset with you." Miko didn't miss a beat, "what do you want?"

"We need to talk, I want to tell you my side of why I did what I did, hm."

There was a small pause, "its unlocked."

A small sigh of relief left Deidara before he opened the door and walked in, "how are you feeling, hm?"

"Still sore, tired, _angry_. Why does it matter?" Miko was sitting up on her bed, her back against the stone wall. She couldn't sleep with the pain slowly coming back but she didn't know which room Saiya was in to request more pain medication.

Deidara grabbed a nearby chair and sat down in it, holding out the box of sweets to the other, "First off, I'm sorry. I know what I did was dumb but, I didn't want to risk losing you. Though it backfired spectacularly, hm."

"Why couldn't you trust me with this information beforehand?"

"Tobi was stuck to me like gum most of the time and it didn't feel right with writing out. When Uchiha told me what that freak was, I felt my angry bubbling more each time he spoke; knowing it was all a façade." He tilted his head back, "when I saw you last, I was going to tell you but I think that bastard picked up on my urgency to speak to you alone so I fabricated the plan to throw him off, which partially worked until I saw your fight with him in the forest." Deidara crossed his arms over his chest, his posture obviously agitated. "I was going to jump in but, Itachi stopped me, stating that Kakashi and his jinchuuriki had already beat me to it."

"Now, to how I didn't die," Deidara put a hand to his chin, "There's a jutsu that Itachi used when we were fighting Sasuke, a body double one. It's not like the shadow clone one we are familiar with. I have a pretty good memory of what was needed for my mouth hands and the one on my chest, we implanted enough of my memories into the guy so when I fell from my bird after my second Karura, we swapped me out. Itachi has used the jutsu before, granted it kills the person that its casted on but thats minor details. Granted I was out of commission for a couple of days after the fight."

Miko gave a faint nod as she stared at the sweets she had, not particularly craving anything sweet. "I guess I can accept your apology, but sweets are a terrible peace offering."

"Hey! I went out of my way for those, do you know how far the closest place that had good ones, hm?!"

She couldn't help but let out a laugh at his reaction, "There's the jerk I fell for. I appreciate you getting me out of Konoha though, I had a bad feeling something was going to happen there, but maybe it's paranoia of being in an extremely unfamiliar place."

"Can I at least get an apology for getting punched in the face?"

"Fat chance, but I have something better." Miko scooted to the edge of her bed, motioning for him to come closer.

Deidara gave her a suspicious look before leaning closer. Miko gave him a faint smile as she placed her hands on his cheeks, tugging him in for a kiss. Deidara relaxed immediately as he returned the kiss, reaching out to pull her closer, however he felt a sudden burning cold against his cheeks.

" **_You fake your death one more time, I will find you and make sure you're dead, do you understand_ **?" Miko's fingers dug into his cheeks, murderous intent flowing from her. Her eyes bore into Deidara's to show she wasn't

"Crystal clear-"

* * *

Whooo!

getting stuff out lmao


	5. Chapter 5

"So, what's the story with the name, hm?"

"What name?"

"The nickname Saiya calls you."

Both Miko and Deidara were taking a well deserved break from sparring; while Deidara was great at ninjutsu, he lacked in a lot in taijutsu. Miko took it upon herself to not only vent some pent up anger still lingering to dole out but also make sure that if Deidara couldn't make clay creations he could hold his own without problem. Sure she could be nicer about it, but where was the fun in being nice? They were wearing a variation of what they used to wear under their Akatsuki cloaks, finding the clothes practical for the time being. They were a good distance away from where they were held up at, it was still a cave but one with open space.

A loud groan left Miko as she laid back on the ground, "When Saiya, Yukiko and I were children, after they started at the academy, we were playing on a mountainside and I tripped. I rolled down the side and collected snow to the point I became a giant snowball and then took them down with me. It's not that funny-!" she sat up suddenly, obviously not happy with Deidara holding back, and failing, his laughter.

Deidara was holding his side with one hand with the other hand covering his lower face as he trembled. It was such a dumb story, but at the same time it was possible. He could see it, a much smaller Miko stuck in a massive ball of snow.

"Eat shit-" She shoved him with her foot before getting back to her feet, "Get up, we still have time before we have to head back inside; Saiya said she'll be done in about eight hours."

"Yeah yeah." Deidara cough as he got to his feet, raising his arms over his head to stretch, "What now then, hm?"

"Try to take me down before I can take you take you down. You're lasting longer I will say." She gave a grin, "Maybe in a hundred years you can take me down."

Deidara huffed before got into a stance, "I'll make you eat those words."

"Mhmm, sure." Miko mimicked his stance and waited for him to make the first move, her grin never leaving her face.

Deidara couldn't fully complain when she'd pin him down, it'd occasionally put him in favorable positions; being pinned down against the floor with her pressed against him, her sitting on him triumphantly with her legs locked around his head. Outside of the occasional rock digging into him from it all, this was fun. It was probably the most normal he'd felt in years since being in the Akatsuki and now defecting with faking his death.

It took roughly another hour before Deidara finally was able to pin Miko down, a smug grin now on his face, "Finally. I win." He had her face down on the ground with both of her arms tightly pinned behind her back and himself sitting on her back to keep her from moving away. Sweat covered them both along with a plethora of scratches and minor cuts, though a healthy flush on their bodies were proof that it was all in good fun.

"Ugh, I think I landed on a rock-" Miko groaned, wincing as Deidara's grip wouldn't loosen on her, "Let go, I have a rock stabbing me in the chest-."

"I'm gonna savor this victory a little longer, hm." Deidara let go of her arms but didn't move off her back.

Miko grumbled as she pushed herself up and got rid of the offending rock before managing to roll over, Deidara not moving off of her as now he was sitting on her hips.

"Hey Deidara..."

"What?"

"What are we? We started off as partners, then became friends but... After we left the snow, where does that leave us at?" Miko looked up at him.

It was a hard question to answer but at the same time the answer was simple, "We're a couple I suppose. I mean, it's obvious from how close we want to be, hm." Deidara removed himself from sitting on her, laying down next to her.

Miko gave a faint nod before closing her eyes, "God we smell bad..." She laughed, "I might take a dip in the river before we head back inside."

"I should too, cold water sounds great honestly." Deidara shook his head, "How long do you think this war will take to start, hm?"

"Who knows, we just have to be ready I guess." Miko peeled herself off the ground, grimacing at the wet mark left by her body, "Lets go find that river and rinse off, I hate the feeling of sweat on me-"

* * *

"Let's go on a date." Deidara suddenly said, Miko's head whipped around so fast she could have broken her neck, "What? We have time and Saiya won't be done for another five hours, hm."

Miko had just gotten out of the water and was drying off as she sat on a boulder, "I mean, I'm not against it... What made you want to suddenly want to go out on a date?"

"Well, why not? It's not like we have anything else to do. What's the harm and getting to know each other more? We won't get the chance after the war if we get arrested afterward, hm." Deidara had already dried off, really only jumping in for a few moments before getting out.

"Where would we even go? I'm not too familiar with the area around us."

Deidara put a hand to his chin, thinking for a moment, "there's a small town just a hour north by foot we could go to. Use the transformation jutsu and everyone is none the wiser, hm."

It was a pretty good idea honestly, and who is really going to notice two travelers in town?

"Alright, I'm in." She gave him a wide smile.

* * *

Miko had to admit, this date was more fun than she was anticipating. The town Deidara had took her to was busier than what she was expecting it to be. It was a very welcomed experience for sure. They both decided to avoid any suspicion and went to the town on foot, planning to take a clay bird on the way back. Deidara had donned a blue-grey kimono style top and off black pants with his shinobi sandals; he transformed himself to have short purple hair, green eyes and a slightly rounder face, keeping his height the same. Miko wore a dark red yukata with grey obi with her shinobi heels; her transformation had her with dark orange hair, golden eyes and a small face.

"There are restaurants, shops, several bars, and park not too far if my memory is right, hm."

"Are you even old enough to drink?" Miko gave him a grin, "last time I checked, you still had a year to go."

"I could say the same to you! We're the same age, hm!" he was suddenly defensive, he technically was the youngest when in the Akatsuki.

Miko laughed at his reaction, "I'm a year older than you, don't you remember when we first met? I mean granted it was before my birthday so I technically was nineteen." she covered her mouth when her laughter got too loud.

Deidara huffed, "Just means you'll age faster than me, I'll keep my good looks."

She shook her head before snaking her arm around one of Deidara's, "what should we do then since you can't legally drink?" there was a slight smug tone to her voice.

"How about food first, I haven't eaten since this morning." Deidara leaned into her as they walked, "What about ramen?"

"Sure why not. Which place though, we passed four of them."

He paused for a few moments before tugging her towards one of the shops, "this one looks promising, hm."

It was a pretty nice shop, a few tables strewn about with seating at the counter. It was warm and well lit, the smell of piping hot ramen filling the room. There were signs for all types of ramen; cold soba, salt bowls, soy, even vegetarian, the one that caught Miko's eye was the challenge bowl. It was advertised as the spiciest bowl in town and if someone were to finish it in fifteen minutes, they would win 4000 ryo and their meal free.

"I have an idea of what I want." Miko grinned as they sat at the countertop, "You should try it with me." She had let go of his arm, leaning forward with her arms resting on the counter.

Deidara didn't like the look on her face, she was planning something, "why do I think you're up to something that will end terribly, hm."

"What? No, no, no, don't think that way, my ideas are flawless." Miko rolled her eyes, "I'm not the one who set their C1s near the escape route earlier this year, which trapped me in with the enemy since I don't know earth style escape jutsus."

"Oi, I said I was sorry, you healed up from that fight anyways, hm!"

Miko covered her mouth to hide her laughter, looking away from the other. While she was right, it was fun riling Deidara up with minor mistakes of the past. Deidara knew she did it on purpose, he didn't let it really get to him.

"What are you planning anyways, hm?"

Miko pointed up to the challenge bowl, "4000 if you finish, 1500 if you fail. I'm going to do it, I have a good tolerance for spicy food."

"And you want me to do it too because, hm?" Deidara knew he had probably the worst tolerance for spicy food, not that he didn't like it but, from the looks of the bowl in the picture, it looked like bowl of red death.

"Think of it, 8000 ryo. Think of the things we could buy, you could even restock completely on your clay with just 2000." she wasn't wrong, Deidara's clay was a special blend he could only get at a few places and it wasn't exactly cheap to constantly resupply.

He made a face before shaking his head, "I'm not going to do it. Though it looks like its all spice, hm."

"I mean I have my ways of getting through something with extra spice." She turned her head, using a hand to block the view of her mouth from anyone looking as she opened it. Deidara didn't know what he was looking at until he noticed her tongue had a unusual sheen to it. Her free hand moved up and she tapped a nail against her tongue, showing it had either a layer of ice or was frozen itself. "A trick I picked up as a child when I had to eat edamame and eel." She moved her hands down as she closed her mouth.

"Thats so childish." Deidara chuckled, it was definitely a way eating food you didn't like however it wouldn't stop the amount of capsaicin she was going to be ingesting. He knew from experience that it would come back with a vengeance. "If I could use those chakra natures, I would try it. If you are so driven to do it, I won't stop you, hm."

"I can always teach you sometime." Miko hummed, leaning into her hand on the counter, "Granted an earth user learning water and wind may have trouble, however the problem happens viceversa. Since earth can absorb water, I'd have a hard time too learning anything you know."

"I remember learning that in the academy," An unusual wave of nostalgia washed over Deidara at remembering the basics they all learned about the chakra natures. He remembered sitting in the classroom with over twenty other would be ninjas in training at the age of five; going over the basics. Soon everyone learned what there natures were, rock was a given for a good amount of them while there were a few wind then Deidara with both earth and lightning. It surprised his teacher, then again, it was his own kekkei genkai that worked with his art flawlessly. "I'm willing to learn new things if it helps me improve my art, hm."

"I thought it was perfect?" Her tone turned teasing.

"As an artist, you never stop improving. You always find new ways to do old things, hm." It was...strangely insightful of him to say. "My man Sasori used to think his art reached its peak but you never really hit that peak until you stop enjoying making your art."

"Teach me."

"What?"

"Teach me how to make art. I'm not artistic in the slightest but... I want to see what you see." Miko didn't know why she wanted him to each her art but, hearing him talk about it always made her wonder why he enjoyed it so much. "I might best you in making art."

A grin spread over his face, excited to teach the other his vision of art, "You know what, I'll join you on that challenge bowl. It might not be too bad, hm."

Oh how wrong he was, terribly wrong. While yes he had finished the bowl in its entirety, his mouth was numb and on fire at the same time. Miko was fairing quite a bit better but if how red her face was to go by, she was suffering. Both felt like they were going to die, actually no, death sounded great compared to how they felt.

The owner was pretty impressed at the empty bowls in front of the duo, a tad reluctant to pay up but they did win fair and square.

"Milk please- anything-. It hurts so bad-" Deidara had to put his head down on the counter top, a hand clutching his stomach.

Miko had started to hiccup relentlessly, unable to speak due to her throat being on fire. She reached over to aggressively pull on his sleeve, needing a drink also.

"Her t-too, give her milk please for the love of god, hm.."

Within moments they had their milk, both downing them in record time to quell the burning.

"Was it worth the money Dei?" Miko put her head down, regretting her choice, "was it really?"

"I...I don't know-"

The owner handed them both two envelopes, their prize money inside for their suffering. It took quite a bit for the milk to properly soothe their stomachs enough to be able to leave. Miko had a weak hold on Deidara's sleeve as they walked out together.

"Never again, oh god I don't anything spicy for a month-" she pressed her face into his arm, her hiccuping finally subsiding. Everything hurt and all she wanted to do now was eat anything that would quell the burning. "Dei-... Dei I want... no, I **need** ice cream-."

"I think there's a shop down this way-." Deidara grabbed onto her and andtugged her down the street. He was right luckily, just in time too as the burning started back up again. It felt like a lifetime by the time they ordered and received the frozen treat, both sighing in relief as the burning was stopped once more.

"I..I regret everything-." Miko muttered, "The money was not worth it-. My insides feel as if I ate fire."

Deidara gave a faint nod, "I can't believe I agreed to it, hm."

A faint groan of agreement came from Miko, she knew they both would regret this. Eventually they found a bench and claimed it for themselves. Despite the discomfort in their stomachs, the day was nice and they were enjoying themselves greatly. The feel of normalcy was more than welcomed, the world for once in both their lives just felt... Right. Months ago neither of them thought they'd be together like this, quietly enjoying each others company while on a date. It was nice, even if it was going to be short lived.

Deidara took her hand and laced their fingers together; neither of them spoke, just enjoyed the quiet and the gentle skin contact between them. Once the war starts and ends, they both hoped that they could enjoy things like this once more.

"We should do this more, not the suffering part but.. going out and being with one another." Miko leaned her head on his shoulder, "once everything blows over, let's just travel a lot and see the world."

"Traveling the world and experience new things? Not a bad idea, I'll be able to see more art and show others my art, hm." He leaned back against the bench, "sounds like a great idea to me."

"We should head back soon, I think Saiya might be done with you-know-who."

"I suppose so. It'd be best to be back there before the sun goes down, rogues like to try and attack travelers who aren't armed." It wasn't ideal but it wasn't like they couldn't hold their own.

Miko gave a faint nod before getting up, letting go of Deidara's hand, "There is one thing I want to buy in town before we go. I'll be right back I promise."

He was quick to grab her hand once more, "groups of two, remember?" Deidara gave a grin, standing up, "We survived this long by adhering to that rule, hm."

"Fine fine, but you can't follow me inside the shop or it'd ruin the surprise." She tugged him down the street, lacing their fingers back together. It didn't take too long before they reached where Miko wanted to go, "Stay here, I'll only take a few minutes."

"Yeah yeah, I'm not a kid, hm."

A faint grin was on Miko's face as she walked inside, leaving Deidara on his own. He bided his time by playing with some clay he brought with him, knowing once she was out, they'd head back to their hideout. Eagle? No. Maybe a Cardinal? No... It was mildly frustrating before he had a moment of clarity; an owl. There was always something classy about an owl to him. Soon he went to work creating a new masterpiece, not minding the quiet he had for the time being.

"Okay I'm finished," Miko stepped out with her hands behind her back, a mischievous grin on her face, "I need you to close your eyes."

"I don't trust that face." Deidara raised a brow at her, turning to face her.

"Oh just do it you big baby."

He rolled his eyes before closing his eyes, he tensed for a moment when he felt her hands reach behind his neck then pull away. A necklace? When he opened his eyes to look at what she put on him, he noticed a fond look in her eyes as she stared at the piece.

The chain was very simple, nothing of notice but the charm on it was what caught his eye. It looked like the snowy owl Miko would send him with a snowflake in its claws with the wings outstretched, "When I became an ANBU back in the Yukigakure, my parents gave me this charm as a gift. I'm not really big on jewelry since the cold usually made it stick to my skin but, I think I want you to wear it for me."

"I thought you hated your parents."

"Birth parents, I absolutely loathe those two people, if they died, I wouldn't care. However...the two people who raised me, I guess I still have a soft spot for them. I suppose I can call them my mother and father," her fingers traced over the snowflake, "Anyways! Lets head back, Saiya is probably going to kill us for being out so long."

"But why give me this then? Don't you want to keep it, hm?" Deidara couldn't say he didn't appreciate the gift but he was confused about why she'd given it to him.

She was quiet for a moment, thinking about how to word what she was going to say. A faint sad smile graced her face as her eyes never left the owl, "War is coming Dei, if I die, if we lose, I want you to keep something of mine as a keepsake."

"You aren't going to die, and we aren't going to lose, you are such a pessimist! I may hate that asshole Uchiha, but his plan will work. We are going to stop Tobi and his gremlins and will come out on top, hm." Deidara reached up to pinch her cheeks, getting a confused look and a whine from Miko, "You shouldn't be thinking about the negatives so soon, we are in this together. Don't worry about it."

Miko rubbed her now red cheeks with a huff, "That hurt you jerk."

"Yeah yeah, come on, let's head back." He took one of her hands into his own, pressing his lips to her cheek, "I'll make it up to you later, hm."

"You better, now my face is going to be sore."

* * *

Not going to lie, i forgot about my account but I am working on porting over the rest of the chapters of this!

I'll even be posting a stand alone story for another character that _**technically**_ ties into this one.


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